The number of people signing on the Live Register has fallen to its lowest level since September 2008, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Last month the Live Register total recorded a monthly decrease of 0.1pc, on a seasonally adjusted basis, reducing the seasonally adjusted total to 249,200.

In unadjusted terms there were 244,319 persons signing on the Live Register in September 2017. This represents an annual decrease of 14.6pc.

Welcoming the news, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Minister, Regina Doherty, T.D., said that the figures represented "clear evidence" that the Government’s strategy on jobs was working.

"The wide-ranging Pathways to Work reforms implemented by my Department since the economic downturn have made a significant contribution to the recovery in employment while enabling employers to continue to grow their businesses," the Minister said.

On a seasonally adjusted basis the Live Register showed a monthly decrease of 1,500 or 1pc of males in September 2017, while females increased by 1,200 or 1.1pc in the same period.

The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment; it also includes part-time workers, seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Overall the number of male claimants decreased by 15.9pc to 140,120 in the year to September 2017.

The number of female claimants decreased by 12.9pc to 104,199 in the year to September.

There are now 105,339 long-term claimants on the Live Register, a decrease of almost 20pc since the start of the year.

Earlier this week the CSO announced that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Ireland last month was 6.1pc, unchanged from August, and down from 7.5pc in September 2016.